Building the Bench - Establishment of Personnel Development Skill Identifiers for 27Ds

27 July 2021

Personnel Development Skill Identifiers (PDSI) have been used by other career management fields for some time, and provide commissioned officers, warrant officers, and enlisted personnel opportunities to earn and demonstrate increased levels of proficiency in certain competencies. We are happy to announce that the Judge Advocate General’s Corps will now provide the opportunity for 27Ds to earn PDSIs in both military justice (MJ) and national security law (NSL).

The increasing demand for proficient military justice and national security law practitioners requires our paralegals to continue to improve their skills in these core competencies. Through both institutional learning, and displayed proficiency in qualifying positions, paralegals will be able to earn a Personnel Development Skill Identifier (PDSI) in these legal disciplines.

There are two levels of each PDSI, each requiring educational prerequisites and professional milestones while serving in qualifying positions. In addition to courses previously offered, two new courses have been developed to assist with qualification—the Trial Paralegal Course for the MJ PDSI, and the National Security Law Primer course for the NSL PDSI. In addition to the institutional training requirements, proficiency at each PDSI level is achieved by serving a minimum time requirement in certain positions and, for the MJ PDSI, completion of a minimum number and type of courts-martial. These PDSIs will serve as a talent management tool for assignment to positions requiring increased levels of proficiency in either of these two disciplines, such as serving in a Special Mission Unit or on a capital litigation team. Additionally, these PDSIs will enable our paralegals to become more integral members of litigation teams, fires cells, operations centers, and trial defense teams.

The creation of these PDSIs not only enhances our paralegals’ proficiency and affords them access to more training opportunities, but allows them to specialize in a certain core competency. The benefits of these opportunities to our Regiment are endless—they aid in paralegal proficiency, provide leaders in the field a bigger bench of trained and experienced Soldiers and leaders, and strengthens our cohort of trusted professionals. For more information, please reach out to the 27D Proponent SGM, SGM Joseph Bannan at joseph.p.bannan.mil@mail.mil or the 27D Senior Career Advisor, MSG Shamar Purdie at shamar.d.purdie.mil@mail.mil.


STUART W. RISCH
Lieutenant General, USA
The Judge Advocate General

OSVALDO MARTINEZ JR
Command Sergeant Major, USA
Regimental Command Sergeant Major